Basic Training Information

The Significance of CERT Training

The City of Beaverton Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program is designed to prepare you to help yourself, your family, and your neighbors in the event of a major emergency or disaster. Because emergency services personnel will not be able to help everyone immediately, you can make a difference by using CERT training to save lives and protect property.

Following a major disaster, first responders who provide fire and medical services will not be able to meet the demand for these services. Factors such as number of victims, communication failures, and road blockages will prevent people from accessing emergency services they have come to expect at a moment’s notice through 9-1-1. People will have to rely on each other for help in order to meet their immediate lifesaving and life sustaining needs.

The foremost reason for CERT training is to give people the decision-making and physical skills needed to offer immediate assistance to family members, neighbors, and associates. While people will respond to others in need without the training, the goal of the CERT program is to help them do so effectively and efficiently without placing themselves in unnecessary danger. The following information provides a breakdown of each of the class modules, giving you a better understanding of the skills required and the training provided.

The fact that no one can predict what might be encountered during and after a catastrophic event is the reason for the wide spectrum of training and preparedness provided in this program. Unlike a first aid class or a wilderness survival course that covers specific points of care and preparation, CERT training will in fact cover many of these same points but in addition will also introduce further skills that typically are not included in most training courses. The course wraps up with a simulated realistic disaster scenario that will allow the participant to use the skills that they have been taught and apply basic hands on techniques to respond and manage emergency situations.

Skills You Will Learn

CERT is about readiness, people helping people, rescuer safety, and doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people. CERT is a positive and realistic approach to emergency and disaster situations where citizens will be initially on their own and their actions can make a difference. Through training, citizens can:

Manage utilities and put out small fire

Organize themselves and spontaneous volunteers to be effective

Provide basic medical aid

Search for and rescue victims safely

Treat the three main medical killers by opening airways, controlling bleeding, and treating for shock

Access additional information about the skills and responsibilities you learn about in CERT basic training.